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When I first got involved in the web, back in ‘98, things were great. Fewer languages, fewer browsers, fewer off the shelf systems and themes. Everything was bespoke. Life was simple. These days, there are a glut of open source systems, cheap or free themes, templates and web based DIY design tools. Browser and web technology roadmaps and new evolving web standards. Enquiries these days still come through, like they have in the past. But the expectations and approach is now much different. As a designer and developer, the skills required are vast. Project manager, content architect, ux designer, creative designer, usability/accessiblity expert, sales expert, security expert…etc. Yet, there is this notion that development is cheap, or that it “should be” cheap. Unfortunately, wordpress (and other open source systems) have played their part in creating this illusion, that all you need are plugins, and if it works for you, bang.. job done. The problem here, is that this is far from a secure, efficient, properly built system which has all the qualities that lend themselves to an end result which works for you and your customers.

As part of my many daily tasks, I run and manage the Facebook page for Teach My Kids. Often, we get requests from other companies for reciprocal likes, we politely decline as it serves no purpose to increase likes with people who will never make use of your content or engage with other users. I received one today which didn’t feel right.

I enjoy working for myself. Being my own boss and making decisions on pretty much all aspects of running a self employed business.

Being around my family and actually being able to see first hand my little boy grow up. When I was in full time employment I literally saw very little of him during the week and so would only hear what he had done that day after I got back from work, which quite often was half an hour before his bedtime.

Fortunately, I am now in a position to be able to pick and choose my projects, decide on which direction I would like to head in and have the energy to concentrate on my own pet projects in parallel.

Despite this rosy picture, there is a side which takes some getting used to. It is something which in hindsight seems really obvious, firstly…

Enquiries for work come in several times a week. The source of which can range from large companies to individual start-ups and charities. A large chunk of my time is spent sifting through them picking out ones that are serious from the ones that aren’t. Having done this for many years I now have learnt to trust my instincts. If it doesn’t feel right, walk away.

If you want to dramatically improve the money-making ability of your sales messages, you need to write perfect sales copy. Perfect sales copy converts readers into buyers or subscribers. It generates natural website links for search engine optimisation and ranks high for targeted keywords in search engines like Google and Bing. If your sales copywriting is not doing all of these things, you need to pay attention to these six tips for writing perfect sales copy.